Amusement device



June 25, 1940. FAGERHYQLM 2,205,471

AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed June 4, 1938 INVENTOR.

PAY/D A? FAER/MLM 1 A TTORNE Y5.

wheels 5.

Patented June 25 1940 UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in amusement devicesand its principal object is to provide a device of the character described in which a plurality of wheels mounted alongside of one another may be set into rotary motion by a single operating mechanism under the control of the player and may be stopped simultaneously by release of said operating mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to have characters displayed on the circumferential surfaces of the Wheels, the characters being confined to evenly-sized fields and the stopping mechanism being arranged in such a manner as to line up the diiferent fields of the wheels so that at the end of each operation the characters of the different wheels are in alined relation.

A further object of the invention is to enclose the working mechanism in such a manner that only one line of fields or characters is open to view.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged and positive in operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 shows a vertical section through my amusement device, taken along line l--l of Figure 2,

Figure 2 a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1, a

Figure 3 a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 3--3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 a perspective detail view of an operating member for my device.

While I have shown only the preferredform of my invention I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of-the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my apparatus I is enclosed in a suitable housing 2 which may be rectangular in cross-section as shown in Figure .2 and formed with a top 3 having a rounded corner 4 connecting with the rear wall 5 and an inclined face 6 connecting with the front wall I.

A shaft 8 extends transversely through the upper portion of the housing and is supported in side frame members 8', preferably co-axial with the rounded corner i. It carries a plurality of Each wheel comprises a central hub iii, a peripheral rim H and a disc l2 connecting rim and wheel. Each sleeve carries a ratchet wheel I3 just outside the left hand plane of the rim, (see Figure 2) and a toothed wheel 14 just inside the right-hand plane of the rim, the latter wheel lying against the disc and being secured thereto by any suitable means. The hubs of the diiilerent wheels are arranged on the shaft in adjoining relation, with freedom of independent rotary motion of each wheelon the shaft, suitable spacers 15 being provided on opposite ends of the shaft.

The side frame members 8' are suitably secured, in spaced relation, to the bottom iii of the housing, as at H, and are interconnected at the rear by cross-pla-tcs iii and i9 and at the front' by a cross-channel 2&3 having an upper flange 2i and a lower flange 22, the former being somewhat wider than the latter as shown in Figure l.

The outer face of the rim of each wheel is divided, in the form shown, into twelve equal fields 23, the fields being characterized by two series of points ranging consecutively from I to 6. Any other suitable subdivision or set of characters may be substituted for those selected in the preferred form v 'Each wheel is supported on the shaft 8 with freedom of independent rota-try motion but is normally held in-fixed position by means of a brake, Zl l (see Figure '3) comprising a bell crank lever 25 having a long arm 25 and a short arm 27. The bell crank levers are mounted on a cornmon shaft iidsupported in the side frame members. The long arm 26 terminates in a tooth 25 which normally engages in one of the recesses of the toothed wheel M and is held in that position by means of a spring 3i] connecting the short arm 26 with the cross-plate 55. All the toothed wheels are arranged relative to the markings on the peripheries of the wheels so that when the brakes are engaged with the toothed wheels, the fields on the rims are in alinement. wheel hasits independent motion, the relative positions of the wheels will naturally change during operation and although the fields will register in any position of rest, the same is not true for equal characters presented on the fields, although they may do so initially as shown in Figure 2.

A rotary impulse .isimparted to each of the wheels by the operating mechanism illustrated particularly well in Figure 1 and including the operating member 3| shown in Figure 4.

The operating mechanism comprises an arm 32 for each ratchet wheel, the arms being pivotally mounted on a common transverse shaft 33 supported in the side frame members 8 and being normally held in substantially radial relation to the axis of the ratchet wheels by means of springs 34 pulling the arms up against the lower flange 22 of the cross-channel 20. The springs 34 are anchored to the upper flange 2i of the'cross-channel.

Each arm carries a pawl 35 in operative prox imity to its ratchet wheel, the pawl being held in normal position by means of a spring 36 urging a Since each cross-channel 20.

small lug 31 against the underface of the arm. It will be noted that in normal position, as shown in Figure 1, with the arm in radial alinement with the axis of the ratchet, the pawl clears the ratchet altogether and does not interfere with the free rotation thereof. But when the arm is re.- tracted in a downward direction and then allowed to spring back, the pawl, in passing the plane defined by the shafts 8 and 33, strikes one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel andthus imparts a rotary impulse to the latter.

All the arms are simultaneously retracted by means of the operating member 3| shown in Figure 4. This member comprises a rectangular frame including a transverse bar 38 and two side bars 39, with a handle 40 projecting from the transverse bar 33 in a direction opposite to that of the side bars. A shaft 4| extends through the side bars near their ends and is pivotally supported in the side frame members 8, vertically underneath the shaft 8' supporting the ratchet wheels.

A second shaft 42 connects the side bars 39 and carries the trigger 43 having a tooth 44 at the upper end thereof. The trigger is normally held in vertical position by a spring 45 pulling a lug 46 against a cross-rod 47. The tooth 44 normally engages a small lug 48 projecting from a bracket 48 held on the shaft 53 which extends through all the arms 32 and causes the latter to move in unison. Spacing sleeves 5| (see Figure 2) space the arms on the shaft 50, and the spacing sleeves and the arms are compressed into a compact unit by means of the nuts 52 threaded upon opposite ends of the shaft 50.

A stop ll is provided to rise from the bottom of the housing underneath the trigger. When the handle is depressed for retracting the arms, an extension 46 of the trigger strikes the stop H and causes the tooth of the trigger 43 to slip from the lug.

This allows the arms to snap back under the influence of the springs 34 so as to cause the pawl to strike a tooth on the ratchet wheel for imparting rotary motion to the latter.

When the handle thereupon is released it snaps back into normal position under the influence of the springs 53 which connect small pins 54 projecting inwardly from the side bars of the operating member 3! to the lower flange 22 of the The upper face of the tooth 44 of the trigger is rounded which causes the tooth to travel around the lug 48 on the upward swing of the operating member for re-engagement with the lug.

The handle moves in a slot 55 in the front wall of the housing and is limited in its motion by the extent of the slot.

The operating member 3| is provided with a cross-rod 56 at its extremity and this cross-rod bears upward on the short arms 21 of the brake members 24 for releasing the brakes during the initial downward movement of the handle 46 and prior to the tripping of the trigger 43.

A narrow glass window 5'! extends across the "housing above the wheels to expose one alined set of fields 23 on the wheel rims to view.

The device operates as follows: In Figure 1 the normal position is illustrated. When the handle 40 is depressed by the player the rod 56 at the extreme end of the operating member 3| first releases the brakes 24 so that all the, wheels are free to rotate. At the same time the trigger 43 pulls the arms 32 downward to move the pawls into striking position. When the arms have moved through a desired distance the extension 46 of the trigger strikes the stop H whereupon the trigger trips and the arms bound back under the influence of the springs 34. During this motion the pawls strike the ratchet l3 and thereby set the different wheels into independent rotary motion. The pawls, after striking the ratchet teeth move backinto the original position so that theydo not interfere with the rotary motion of the wheels.

The player may now, at any time desired, release the handle whereupon the operating member returns to its original position and in doing so releases its hold on the brakes which now return into engagement with the toothed wheels I4 and thereby bring all the wheels to a positive stop. The player may then, by looking through the window 51, obtain the result of the operation.

I claim:

1. In an amusement device of the character described, an operating member comprising a frame having a cross-member and two arms projeoting therefrom, a handle extending from the cross-member in a direction opposite to that of the arms, a supporting shaft mounted in the arms, near the ends thereof, a rod mounted in the extremities of the arms, a second shaft mounted in the arms between the supporting shaft and the cross-member, a trigger mounted on the second shaft, a spring urging the trigger toward the cross-member, and a stop for the trigger mounted in the arms.

2. In an amusement device of the character described, an operating member comprising a frame having a cross-member and two arms projecting therefrom, a handle extending from the cross-member in a direction opposite to that of the arms, a supporting shaft mounted in the arms, a second shaft mounted in the arms between the supporting shaft and the cross-memher, a trigger mounted on the second shaft, a spring urging the trigger toward the cross-member, and a stop for the trigger mounted in the arms.

3. In an amusement device, a revolvablymounted member having a ratchet wheel and a toothed wheel secured thereto, a brake member normally engaging the toothed wheel, a swingably-mounted arm having a pawl pivoted thereon arranged to idle over the ratchet wheel when the arm is advanced in one direction and to drive the ratchet wheel during return movement, yielding means for snapping the arm to an initial position, a pivotally-mounted and manually-actuated lever, means on the lever engaging with the brake member to release the latter when the lever is initially moved, a pivotally-mounted trigger carried by the lever and engageable with the arm so as to move the latter through a limited distance when the lever is moved, means for thereupon positively swinging the trigger to disengage the latter from the arm and release the arm for return movement and to cause the pawl to drive the ratchet wheel, and means for automatically returning the lever to an initial position for repeat operations when the operator-releases his grip on the lever.

DAVID R. FAGERHOLM. 

